Smoke Free, help/tips needed

[Hero]

I won't pinpoint what, when and who from, but in the past I've bought loose figures from eBay that have turned up smelling like an ashtray. Some eBay sellers who probably smoke don't state whether they sell from a smoke free home (and I sorta don't blame them).

Does anyone have tips for taking the second hand smoke smell away from figures?

[Robhp03]

You have to ask before you bid or you get burned.
You cant get rid of the smell.

[Drtooth]

There was something I once tried and failed to do.... I put all these fresh packets of Pez candy into a container with some plastic figurines, and I wanted to see if I can give them the same smell as a new Pez dispenser when you open it up. Didn't quite work.

I'm sure there could be a way to get them to smell of something different (putting them in a box or something with an air freshener tree thing), but it would only be temporary.

[Patraw]

I think the smell would wear off eventually, can't say how long though. Brand new toys lose their plasticy/fresh paint smell after a while.


When it comes to getting toys from someone who smokes a lot, I have more of a problem with yellowed plastic bubbles on MOC toys.

[tmntman]

There are actually quite a few tricks that will work. The first step is to clean the figure well. If it is covered in tar and smoke residue, the smell isn't going away. But if the figure is clean, the best way to remove the smell is to seal the figure in an airtight container with a material that will absorb the smell. I have read of people using cat litter or baking soda. You don't have to actually place the figures in the litter/baking soda. Just place both items in an air tight container for a few days. I think that a fabric softner sheet will do the trick as well or just sealing them in a tupperware container will slowly cause the container to absorb much of the smell.

[Archon_Turtle]

There are actually quite a few tricks that will work. The first step is to clean the figure well. If it is covered in tar and smoke residue, the smell isn't going away. But if the figure is clean, the best way to remove the smell is to seal the figure in an airtight container with a material that will absorb the smell. I have read of people using cat litter or baking soda. You don't have to actually place the figures in the litter/baking soda. Just place both items in an air tight container for a few days. I think that a fabric softner sheet will do the trick as well or just sealing them in a tupperware container will slowly cause the container to absorb much of the smell.

I was just going to guess...but I would have suggested baking soda as well. It works great for taking smells out of stuff. The dryer sheets TMNTMan suggested would probably work as well...except that it would make them smell like spring time instead :-P

As far as people not mentioning things smelling like smoke, it probably has to do with them not noticing. When you are a smoker, the smell is so second nature, that often times you litterally cant smell it yourself (I smoked for about 8 years).

[Dragnskull]

well ive had to clean smoke smelling items before, not sure if this will hurt the toy itself, dont see why it would since i use to play w/ them in the bathtub as a kid:

if these are open box figures, remove all the limbs and points you can pop off(to allow getting to all nooks and crannies) and soak them in distilled water. Best to buy a gallon jug from the store, as you dont want to have that white chalky stuff on them when they dry (Calcium buildup) soak them for about 30 minutes toa n hour, lighly scrub clean with a towel/washcloth

follow that by putting baking soda in a jar, a piece of paper ontop of the baking soda (not sure if baking soda will hurt plastic, never done anything like that) and place the figure ontop the paper, close lid and let sit for 2-3 days

should have a non existant smell by the end of it